Two Bergen County Police officers want tampering charges tossed

By KIBRET MARKOS

staff writer |

The Record

Lawyers for two Bergen County Police officers asked a judge on Wednesday to throw out evidence-tampering charges against their clients, saying the case was politically motivated and fueled by the ongoing battle over dissolving the department.

Bergen County prosecutors defended the charges against Officers Jeffrey Roberts and Saheed Baksh, saying the case has nothing to do with politics, and has everything to do with Baksh, who they claim, with a helping hand from Roberts, removed shell casings from a crime scene to cover up a shooting.

Baksh and Roberts were indicted last year on charges of evidence-tampering, conspiracy, official misconduct and lying to investigators — all in connection with their alleged roles following a high-speed chase through six Bergen County towns in August 2010.

Authorities said the two officers were among those from several police departments who pursued two suspects in the failed burglary of a Paramus home. The chase went on for nearly 15 minutes until it came to a stop on River Road in Bogota.

Patrol-car video obtained by The Record, including video from Baksh’s vehicle, shows Baksh coming out of his vehicle before it came to a complete stop and firing two shots. The two suspects, Francesco Piserchia of Kenilworth and Carlos Camacho-Cruz of Newark, were arrested moments later.

Catherine Foddai, an assistant Bergen County prosecutor, said at the hearing Wednesday that Baksh and Roberts were the last ones to be seen near the two shell casings from Baksh’s shots.

“The inferences are that these are the people who removed the casings,” she said.

She said the two officers gave false statements when questioned by investigators from the Prosecutor’s Office.

The attorneys for Baksh and Roberts said there was no evidence that Baksh removed the casings. They also said Baksh told Roberts that he fired the two shots and that his superiors were notified within hours. And they argued that it was telling how prosecutors handled the case before they presented it to a grand jury:

Prosecutors concluded in 2010 that there was no criminal conduct on the part of the two officers, and referred the case to the county Police Department for administrative review.

Almost a year later, however, Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli wrote a letter to county officials, saying he was taking over the internal-affairs investigation of Baksh and Roberts. Molinelli said at the time that he did so because he was not satisfied with how the county Police Department handled the administrative review.

Molinelli’s decision to take back the case prompted a letter from Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan, who wrote to Molinelli that he had overstepped his authority. Molinelli responded by saying that he will, in fact, present the case to a grand jury.

“These two men are collateral damage in a political feud … between two political titans,” Louis DiLuzio, the attorney for Baksh, said at the hearing Wednesday.

The Bergen County Police Department has been the target of repeated efforts over the last five years to merge it into the county Sheriff’s Department as a cost-cutting measure. Last month, county freeholders approved the merger with a 5-1 vote, a move that opened the door to a legal battle with Donovan, the Republican county executive who is opposed to the merger.

Molinelli, who has not publicly taken a position on the merger, used funds seized from criminals to pay for a study that recommended a merger.

Two Bergen County Police officers want tampering charges tossed

Lawyers for two Bergen County Police officers asked a judge on Wednesday to throw out evidence-tampering charges against their clients, saying the case was politically motivated and fueled by the ongoing battle over dissolving the department.

Bergen County prosecutors defended the charges against Officers Jeffrey Roberts and Saheed Baksh, saying the case has nothing to do with politics, and has everything to do with Baksh, who they claim, with a helping hand from Roberts, removed shell casings from a crime scene to cover up a shooting.

Baksh and Roberts were indicted last year on charges of evidence-tampering, conspiracy, official misconduct and lying to investigators — all in connection with their alleged roles following a high-speed chase through six Bergen County towns in August 2010.

Authorities said the two officers were among those from several police departments who pursued two suspects in the failed burglary of a Paramus home. The chase went on for nearly 15 minutes until it came to a stop on River Road in Bogota.

Patrol-car video obtained by The Record, including video from Baksh’s vehicle, shows Baksh coming out of his vehicle before it came to a complete stop and firing two shots. The two suspects, Francesco Piserchia of Kenilworth and Carlos Camacho-Cruz of Newark, were arrested moments later.

Catherine Foddai, an assistant Bergen County prosecutor, said at the hearing Wednesday that Baksh and Roberts were the last ones to be seen near the two shell casings from Baksh’s shots.

“The inferences are that these are the people who removed the casings,” she said.

She said the two officers gave false statements when questioned by investigators from the Prosecutor’s Office.

The attorneys for Baksh and Roberts said there was no evidence that Baksh removed the casings. They also said Baksh told Roberts that he fired the two shots and that his superiors were notified within hours. And they argued that it was telling how prosecutors handled the case before they presented it to a grand jury:

Prosecutors concluded in 2010 that there was no criminal conduct on the part of the two officers, and referred the case to the county Police Department for administrative review.

Almost a year later, however, Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli wrote a letter to county officials, saying he was taking over the internal-affairs investigation of Baksh and Roberts. Molinelli said at the time that he did so because he was not satisfied with how the county Police Department handled the administrative review.

Molinelli’s decision to take back the case prompted a letter from Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan, who wrote to Molinelli that he had overstepped his authority. Molinelli responded by saying that he will, in fact, present the case to a grand jury.

“These two men are collateral damage in a political feud … between two political titans,” Louis DiLuzio, the attorney for Baksh, said at the hearing Wednesday.

The Bergen County Police Department has been the target of repeated efforts over the last five years to merge it into the county Sheriff’s Department as a cost-cutting measure. Last month, county freeholders approved the merger with a 5-1 vote, a move that opened the door to a legal battle with Donovan, the Republican county executive who is opposed to the merger.

Molinelli, who has not publicly taken a position on the merger, used funds seized from criminals to pay for a study that recommended a merger.